1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to door covers and more particularly to an improved protective door cover and method of making the same.
2. Description of Related Art
The exterior sides and edges of interior and exterior doors of residences, commercial buildings, offices, etc. are subjected to accidental abuse, damage, marking or mistreatment, particularly during construction, moving, painting, remodeling, or the like. Due to the high cost of labor to repair or replace, as well as the inconvenience of removing, repairing and/or replacing doors mounted in a door frame, it is necessary to somehow protect the vulnerable surfaces of doors from accidental damage or harm because of dripping paints or plasters, or contact by moving objects, such as furniture, tools, wall portions, or the like.
Means for covering doors to protect them against damage or harm, are known. These known means are generally of the disposable type, are not designed to fit all doors, or all edges and both sides of single door or double doors, and do not allow the doors so covered thereby to function properly so as to be opened, closed and locked in a usual manner. Therefore, after many attempts to solve the problems of ease in using and manufacturing a relatively low-cost and reusable protective door cover there still exists the need in the door protecting art for a relatively simple, easy to install and remove, low-cost protective door cover that may be made to cover all sides of substantially all doors, while at the same time allowing the door to function normally and be opened, closed and locked for everyday use.
One such known prior art door cover is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,364, which discloses an adjustable length door protector for one side of a door only, which is hung from the top of a door by an upper end pocket. The bottom of the protector is folded-up and fixed to Velcro strips to form a double thickness pad at the base of the side of the door being protected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,656 discloses a disposable door protector in which the protector is formed as a large plastic sheath envelope that is pulled onto the edge of the door opposite the door edge hinged to the frame to cover the entire door, including the top and bottom edges, the locking/closure mechanism and the handles. The door, covered by this disposable envelope, therefore, cannot be opened or closed with the envelope thereon.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,185,197, 4,620,396, 4,782,873 and 4,954,384 disclose covers for other specific items (not doors) having Velcro closure or securing means for holding the covers in place, or for securing the covers together.
While the foregoing mentioned prior art covers have provided some limited improvements and overcome some of the problems in damage caused to doors when rooms are being painted or furniture is being moved, and disclose the use of Velcro closure or securing means in various types of covers, they tend to be limited in application, are of the disposable type, or are not designed to fit all doors, or both the front and back sides of a single door, or a set of double doors, and do not allow the doors so covered to be opened and closed in a normal manner.